Book Review: "Three Days Grace" by Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato

I’ve had the good fortune over the last month or so to stumble upon some books I hadn’t heard of. Three Days Grace was another of those. This was a powerful, emotional read, sad but hopeful, and it will be a book that sticks in my mind for a long time.

“‘I think,’ he said, ‘that sometimes we learn how to love by recognizing what love isn’t. By seeing the darkness and choosing to live in the light instead.’”

The night before they’re supposed to fly to South Africa on vacation, Lynne and her wife Susan are expecting three guests to meet them at their hotel room in Paris. There’s Nick, Lynne’s son, who has had a strained relationship with his mother since he was a teenager; Laslo, an artist and friend of Susan’s; and Marc, Lynne’s closest friend and confidante.

The whole day, Lynne has seemed out of sorts. She picked several fights with Susan over trivial things and when the five of them go to dinner, her behavior is almost erratic. And then she discloses a piece of news that affects all of them, Nick most particularly. They suddenly must confront the truth about events of the past that they all knew about in their own way, but no one ever did anything about them.

This is a story of loss, grief, guilt, shame, pain, and how we can hide painful truths from ourselves. The book deals with sexual and physical abuse of children (although it’s only referred to without details), which might prove triggering. But this book is gorgeously written even through the sadness, anger, and pain.

“I told him that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop pretending. That loving yourself doesn’t mean you love other people less.”

Book Review: "The Gulf of Lions" by Caitlin Shetterly

Alice is a recent breast cancer survivor. It’s only been a year, and she’s still very scared of her long-term prognosis. Just before she was diagnosed, she learned of her husband Pete’s infidelity. So while he did everything during her surgery and recovery and chemotherapy, she still isn’t sure how she feels about him and their marriage.

She once was a writer, and during her recovery she found passion for it again. She’s landed a fantastic freelance assignment: she and her two daughters will travel to France, where they will camp across the country. Her daughters, Sophie and Iris, are 13 and 8-1/2. None of them have ever camped before. But this trip is both mother-daughters’ reconnection and a trip of triumph.

The places they go, the scenery they see, the people they meet, the food they enjoy, all of this imbues the trip with beauty and joy. But at the same time, Alice isn’t fully prepared for a trip with two girls who need more of her than she’s prepared to give, nor is she fully ready to be alone with her own thoughts about her mortality and the state of her marriage.

“There are versions of me I don’t recognize anymore.”

While this book is billed as a standalone, Caitlin Shetterly’s previous book, Pete and Alice in Maine, is, inherently a prequel. I wish I had known that because that book would probably have set the foundation for these characters and their actions, and perhaps make me feel more sympathetic towards them.

There are many beautiful and thought-provoking moments in the story, and the imagery is absolutely vivid. However, I didn’t really love the characters—especially Sophie and Iris. And the last 15 percent of the book came out of nowhere, creating melodrama where there had not previously been any.

Book Review: "Make Nice" by Ryan Effgen

I love dysfunctional families. (Fictional dysfunctional families.) There’s just so much fodder for drama and confrontation. Ryan Effgen’s debut novel takes one such family on vacation—what could go wrong? Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the advance copy!

The Pickford family is gathering at The Grand Hotel, a ritzy resort on an island in Lake Michigan. It’s been three months since their mother died, and their father has decided that they all should vacation together. No one is exactly sure why.

Viv is fairly sure her marriage is over, what with the recent discovery that her husband is gay. But she’s determined to pretend everything is fine, especially to her teenage daughter, Ash (don’t call her Ashley). Pete is a scientist, recently referred to as the nation’s foremost expert on gastropods.

And then there’s Corey, the black sheep of the family. Corey didn’t attend their mother’s funeral, and in fact, Pete and Viv didn’t even know their father invited him. But Corey isn’t the type of person to shrink under scrutiny—he almost seems to relish his role as family outcast. However, he’s ready to take control of his life—and he has five pounds of cocaine he plans to sell to the rich tourists, which should give him a good start.

Of course, you bring a family together, and there are always secrets to be revealed, old wounds to be reopened, and lots of emotions. Why did their father summon them to the island? Can peace and love be found amidst the fudge and ice cream shops and the horse-drawn carriages?

The book is billed as a cross between Sandwich and The Wedding People. There are certainly similarities but I didn’t feel as connected to the characters in this book as I did in those others. This was enjoyable but not necessarily unique in any way.

The book publishes 7/14.

Book Review: "It's Not Her" by Mary Kubica

When I’ve seen lots of people post about a book and how much they loved it, I always get a little nervous reading it. Will I be the outlier, disappointed by the hype? It does happen at times, but in the case of Mary Kubica’s latest, the hype is real!

Courtney and her family take a vacation at a lakeside resort with her brother Nolan (who is married to her best friend, Emily) and his family. They’re ready to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.

But the peace is short-lived. Early one morning Courtney hears a scream and sees her young niece, Mae, come running out of Nolan and Emily’s cottage. She has blood on her and she’s unable to do much more than cry.

Courtney rushes over to the cottage and finds that both Emily and Nolan were brutally murdered. Their son Wyatt appears to have slept through the attack and is unharmed. But their teenage daughter Reese is missing. Was she kidnapped or was she the murderer?

As the police investigation unfolds, Courtney isn’t sure who is innocent and who is guilty. She becomes convinced her husband is keeping secrets from her and she’s starting to feel afraid of Wyatt. But she’s determined to find out what happened to Reese, as well as who murdered her family.

This was really good. Kubica kept ratcheting up the tension and creating so many questions that I trusted no one. And how it all wrapped up? Chef’s kiss.

Book Review: "Run Away with Me" by Brian Selznick

Thanks so much to Scholastic and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book! This was a sweet and emotional read.

In the summer of 1986, Danny is 16 years old. He and his mother are spending the summer in Rome, as she has a job at a museum. Left to his own devices, he wanders the streets, visiting the sights, and waiting for something to happen to him.

And then he meets Angelo. Angelo seems to be following him through Rome—but once he steps out of the shadows, he has a powerful impact on Danny’s life. Angelo has stories about so many of the places and things they see, each of which focuses on love stories between men throughout history. Against this backdrop, the two boys’ attraction to one another quickly turns to love.

Of course, their relationship has an end date, since Danny will have to go back to the U.S. with his mother at the end of the summer. This only serves to intensify their feelings for one another and the emotions related to Danny’s impending departure.

As much as this is a love story between two young men, Brian Selznick has also written a gorgeous love letter to Rome. I’ve never been but Italy is very high on my bucket list. Selznick’s prose made me feel immersed in the sights and sounds of the city.

Having grown up in the 1980s, I love books set during that time. It’s always interesting to read a love story that takes place before the immediate connections that mobile phones and email could provide. The added bonus is the beautiful illustrations that Selznick drew. This book really packed a punch.

Book Review: "Stealing Time" by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs and Norman Birnbach

What a fun romp this was!! Thanks so much to Get Red PR Books for the complimentary copy!

It’s 2020 and teenage Tori is pretty dissatisfied with her life. Her parents are getting divorced, her father is annoying, and the pandemic has motivated her mother to move the two of them from their NYC home to Massachusetts to live with Tori’s aunt until the world gets back to normal.

Just before she heads to Massachusetts, “land of Boston accents, inferior bagels, lousy pizza, and having to be driven everywhere,” Tori makes a shocking discovery. (Well, she overhears it.) Apparently her paternal grandfather (whom she’s named after) was accused of a colossal jewel heist 40 years ago.

As if that’s not unsettling enough, the next thing Tori knows, she’s in 1980. The world—and NYC, for that matter—is very different than what she knows. She finds herself becoming allies with a teenage version of her father, on a mission to stop the jewel theft and perhaps correct the course of their family’s lives.

Getting used to a world without cell phones and the internet is not something that Tori ever wanted to do. It’s good to feel like you can have an impact on the future. But will she able to make it back to 2020? And will she have to share her secret with the 1980s version of her dad?

I’m a sucker for a time travel book, and this was a fun adventure. There was humor, emotions, family dysfunction, and so much more.

Book Review: "Anyone's Ghost" by August Thompson

I really love coming-of-age novels, particularly when the main character is profoundly changed by someone or something. August Thompson’s debut novel is utterly fantastic—it’s thought-provoking, poignant, funny, and it felt so incredibly real.

Following Theron’s parents’ divorce, he lived with his mother in Los Angeles during the school year and with his father in New Hampshire during the summer. When he was almost 16, he planned to spend the summer watching TV and getting high, but his angry father had other ideas, and got Theron a job at a hardware store.

The only other employee in the store was Jake. Jake was 17, and everything that Theron was not—tall, confident, handsome, and he did what he wanted. The two quickly bonded over their shared love of music, jokes, and being critical of their parents, not to mention smoking pot and drinking.

They spend nearly every day at work, and usually hang out together at night. Their friendship is one where they can say anything to each other, express their true feelings or fears. Theron has never had a friend like Jake—he feels admiration, envy, even some infatuation for him.

“I wanted Jake as much as much as I wanted to be Jake as much as I wanted to be his friend as much as I wanted to be his brother.”

I was really moved by this story, which tells of Theron and Jake’s relationship that summer, the fits and starts through subsequent years, and moves to the present, where Theron is 30 and grieving. I can’t wait to see what Thompson does next!

Book Review: "Savor It" by Tarah DeWitt

Fisher was a chef at the top of his game in New York City, even getting a Michelin star. But after his sister dies, he loses the star, and he isn’t even sure he wants to cook anymore. He also has custody of his teenage niece, Indy. So the owner of the restaurant sends him and Indy to the small coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (“not to be confused with Forks, Washington”), where he will consult on a new restaurant and develop the menu.

Sage has lived her whole life in Spunes, which means everyone in town has seen her ups and downs. Her relationship with Ian, the town’s golden boy, has ended after 5 years, and he’s already engaged. She’s desperate to find her self-worth and follow her dreams—if she can figure out exactly what they are.

Fisher and Indy’s summer home is a guest house right near where Sage lives with a small menagerie of animals. It’s not long before a series of awkward encounters blossoms into a friendship and an intense attraction, which has the whole town talking. When the locals start protesting about the new restaurant (which has a somewhat phallic design), Fisher turns to Sage for advice and assistance—and then their flirtation turns to serious passion.

“I remind myself that it’s absurd, that life is not a meritocracy. Just because you do everything right, even if you know you deserve it, doesn’t mean that it will all be perfect in the end. Just because you accomplish a dream doesn’t mean it’ll make you happy forever.”

This is a book about second chances, of realizing you’re more than your situation. It’s a book about overcoming grief and hurt, finding what (and who) matters, and trusting your heart. I absolutely loved this, and found it romantic, steamy, funny and emotional, with an immensely endearing cast of supporting characters—and animals!

Book Review: "Family Family" by Laurie Frankel

“There are infinity different kinds of families. And every member of every one has a different story to tell about it. So the fact that a few stories about adoption are the only ones that ever get told seems like a problem to me.”⁣

⁣ India’s dream was always to be a successful Broadway actress. Thanks to hard work, perseverance, and pretty impressive talent, she achieved her dream, finding success on the stage and on television, which led to the lead role in a movie.⁣

⁣ The movie is about adoption, and as the adoptive mother of fraternal twins, India is excited that this story will be told. But it’s not long before people criticize the film—and India—for what they believe the message of the film is. She’s frustrated by public reaction, so she decides to set the record straight. But she winds up making everything worse—and then some.⁣

⁣ The fact is, there’s much more to India’s life than most people know. As all of her own choices are called into question, others in her life decide to take control of the situation. And so the wild ride begins.⁣

⁣ Laurie Frankel is truly an artist. Her books are so rich in emotion, character development, and their treatment of issues related to love, family, and parenthood. I thought this was incredible, and utterly thought-provoking.⁣

Book Review: "Devils at the Door" by Tessa Wegert

One of my favorite mystery series in recent years has been Tessa Wegert's featuring New York State senior police investigator Shana Merchant. Shana has been through a lot over the last few years, both personally and professionally, and still bears the physical and emotional scars of that trauma. But she's definitely no victim; she's a complex, flawed character who isn't above following her own path despite what she's told by her superiors.

When the book (the fifth in the series) begins, Shana's older brother Doug calls to share concerns about his teenage daughter, Henrietta, who has gone from being a cheerful and popular 16-year-old to a rebellious, morose troublemaker, getting drunk and crashing his car. Doug hopes that if Hen spends a few months with Shana and her fiancé (and colleague), Tim, that she'll be back to her old self in no time. But Shana is shocked at just how much Hen has changed, how sullen and manipulative she has become, and her presence creates tension between Shana and Tim.

It's not long before Shana discovers some of her possessions are missing, and Hen is sneaking out at night. And while she starts to despair if Alexandria Bay is the right place for her niece, late one night she is called to Devil's Oven, a remote island that used to be a popular hangout for area teens, as a drowning has been reported. It turns out the victim is a local teenager, and as Shana tries to make sense of what happened, she makes two disturbing discoveries—she finds two other teenagers on another part of the island who don't seem the least bit concerned about the drowning, and she also finds Hen at the scene of the crime. Apparently Hen tried to rescue the young man, to no avail.

As the investigation proceeds, and neither Hen nor her friends will share much information about what happened that night, Shana is forced to recuse herself given Hen's involvement. And when a new investigator comes to town, Shana worries that her niece may become a suspect rather than simply a witness. She is determined to uncover the truth despite the scrutiny she's under, and she discovers a web of secrets that could rock their small town, as well as just how much her family's own secrets still trail her.

I love the way Wegert writes, and I have become so enamored of this community she has created. While frustrating at times, Shana is an absolutely fascinating character, and I really enjoy Tim and the other supporting characters I feel I have come to "know" through this series. I hope we get to see more of Shana and spend more time in A-Bay!

Book Review: "Sam" by Allegra Goodman

Sam is a poignant coming-of-age story about a young girl as she grows into adulthood.

“There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She has a mother named Courtney and a dad who is sort of around, sort of not. He lives ten minutes away, but he is not always home.”

When Allegra Goodman’s new novel begins, Sam is an energetic, curious seven-year-old being raised by her single mother. As her mother struggles to support Sam and her younger brother, she always stresses to Sam the importance of doing well in school so she can go to college, get a good job, and have a more comfortable life.

But what Sam loves more than anything is climbing—shimmying up the doorframes of her house, racing to the top of the monkey bars, climbing trees, even scaling the sides of buildings. And when her often-absent father takes her to a climbing gym, she is hooked. She dreams of becoming a champion, of taking climbing trips with her dad.

As she becomes a teenager and grows toward womanhood, she’s a loner who doesn’t care about being liked. She just cares about climbing. She resents her father’s constant disappearances and her mother’s demands. She’s unsure of how to handle her climbing coach’s attention. And after high school, she tries to figure out whether to follow her mother’s wishes and pursue a degree in accounting, or if she should find her own path.

There are moments of real joy and emotion in this book, as Sam tries to deal with the various emotions and people she encounters. I love the way Goodman writes but at times I struggled to connect with the story.

Book Review: "Locust Lane" by Stephen Amidon

Secrets and lies surface in a small town in this compelling story by Stephen Amidon.

When Eden Perry is found murdered, the incident sends shockwaves through the small town of Emerson, Massachusetts. These things don’t often happen in the wealthy part of town; in fact, she wasn’t even from Emerson, but had been living with a local couple as a caregiver.

A suspect is quickly identified and a case begins to take shape. But are things as clear-cut as they appear? It turns out that three teenagers were partying with Eden that night—Jack, the handsome, privileged son of a powerful family, who’s known for his manipulation; Christopher, a shy newcomer to Emerson, just hoping to fit in; and Hannah, Jack’s girlfriend, sweet but easily swayed.

All three teens were acting strangely the night Eden was murdered. It’s not long before stories change and accusations fly, and the parents of the teens try to manipulate the situation to protect their children. Will justice be served?

This is one of those twisty stories that happens far too often in real life. No one in this book is particularly likable, but I was hooked by the domestic drama.

Thanks to Celadon Books for the advance copy!

Book Review: "Christmas in Peachtree Bluff" by Kristy Woodson Harvey

In Christmas in Peachtree Bluff, the holiday season comes along with romance, family drama, and a hurricane.

I received this book last year after the holidays had ended, so I decided to add it to my stack of holiday reads for this year. Once again, I’m reminded just how much I love the way Kristy Woodson Harvey writes, how she pulls you into her stories immediately.

Ansley is excited to have all three of her daughters, Caroline, Sloane, and Emerson, home for Thanksgiving with their families. The peace and joy of the holidays is slightly marred by the antics of Caroline’s 15-year-old daughter Vivi, who keeps lashing out at Caroline because of her impending divorce. At the end of her rope, she asks Ansley and her husband, Jack, if Vivi can stay with them through Christmas.

Before that, however, Ansley and Jack have a cruise to Australia planned. But the hurricane of the century is headed for Peachtree Bluff, and she’s worried about leaving the town that means so much to her. When Vivi acts out again, little does she realize how many people she’ll put in harm’s way.

Will the hurricane hit Peachtree Bluff, and if so, will the town survive? Will each of Ansley’s daughters deal with the problems they’re facing? This is technically the fourth book in the Peachtree Bluff series, but I haven’t read the other two, and that didn’t matter at all.

This is such a charming story of family, home, and the holiday spirit. I definitely want to go back and read the rest of the series now!!

Book Review: "Now Is Not the Time to Panic" by Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson's latest novel is an absolutely excellent book about friendship, growing up, finding your place in this world, and the effect of art.

“How did you prevent your life from turning into something so boring that no one wanted to know about it?”

Frankie is 16. She’s a loner, growing up in Coalfield, Tennessee, ready to face another long, boring summer. She wants to be a writer but she doesn’t know if she’s any good.

One day she meets Zeke, who has moved to Coalfield to stay with his grandmother, hopefully just for the summer. Frankie and Zeke connect quickly and are determined to do something with impact this summer. They decide to create a piece of art that will get people’s attention but one that no one will know was created by them.

In a burst of inspiration, Frankie comes up with the phrase “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.” Zeke creates a drawing to accompany the phrase, and they create posters that they put up all over town. The posters create a sensation—no one knows what they mean or who is responsible, but they touch off a frenzy of imitators and panic throughout Coalfield, which leads to tragedy.

Twenty years later, Frances gets a call from a reporter who wants to write about the Coalfield Panic and believes she was behind the posters. This is a secret she's kept all of this time. Does she reveal the truth? What will happen if she does?

I thought this was absolutely fantastic, poignant and thought-provoking. I’ll read anything that Wilson writes!!

Book Review: "The Do-Over" by Lynn Painter

This Valentine’s Day will be totally unlike what she imagined…

Emilie is super excited for Valentine’s Day. She can’t wait to tell her boyfriend Josh that she loves him. But the day starts out badly on her way to school and gets progressively worse and worse. She goes to hide out at her grandmother’s house to wallow in her misery…and promptly falls asleep.

But when she wakes up, she’s back in her own bed. And it’s Valentine’s Day again. Apparently she’s stuck in a time loop and has to relive the whole dumpster-fire of a day over and over again, from academic disappointment to family upheaval, not to mention a cheating boyfriend. And then there’s the fact that she keeps running into her lab partner—sometimes literally.

So when she decides to throw caution to the wind and do what she wants rather than what people expect, it’s tremendously freeing. But what happens when the time loop ends? Will the things she’s done and the people she’s connected with matter, or will they be forgotten?

I really enjoyed this fun, sweet, YA rom-com. Lynn Painter always brings such heart and humor to her books, and I thought this was really so good. It was a great change of pace for me!

Book Review: "The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen" by Isaac Blum

This debut novel is insightful, emotional, and very relevant.

Judah “Hoodie” Rosen is an Orthodox Jewish teenager. He knows he’s supposed to be focused on his studies but there’s always something to distract him—quite often it’s the mischief he and his friends cause in class.

But even though life seems carefree, it’s actually quite stressful. Their Orthodox community has moved into the suburban town of Tregaron and they intend to build a large apartment complex so more of them can settle there. However, the town has other ideas—they don’t want to get overrun by Jews, and thwart and harass the community at every turn.

And then Hoodie meets Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary, the daughter of Tregaron’s mayor, who is leading the charge to “protect” the town. He falls head over heels, as she’s completely different from anyone he’s ever met, and the fact that he’s not even supposed to talk to her only adds to her appeal.

As antisemitic violence increases in Tregaron, Hoodie is viewed as a traitor by his family and friends, and is ostracized. But when the violence takes a tragic turn, Hoodie has to decide between his family and his faith and the girl who won his heart.

Hoodie is such a terrific narrator, sensitive yet oblivious, funny, and flawed. This is an incredibly relevant story—whether it’s Orthodox Jews, immigrants in general, people of other races and ethnicities—there are many communities committed to doing whatever it takes to keep these “outsiders” out. This was definitely a memorable read!!

Book Review: "The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers" by Adam Sass

Adam Sass' newest book is all kinds of adorable.

Micah wants the fairytale. The problem is, he can never work up the courage to actually ask any of his crushes out. Instead he draws dramatic sketches of each imaginary boyfriend with a story of what their date could’ve been like, and posts it to his Instagram account, to the joy of his growing number of fans.

There have now been 99 “boyfriends.” Micah is determined that the 100th boy he meets will be the one—and he’ll be brave enough to ask him out. When he meets a handsome guy on the subway carrying two large bags of books, there’s an immediate attraction. They banter and flirt, Micah seeks the chance to make his move. But in a chaotic moment on the train, the guy gets off and Micah doesn’t, and they never had chance to exchange names or phone numbers.

The guy did, however, leave behind a gorgeous handmade leather jacket with a pumpkin on it. Micah is determined to find his mystery guy, and with the help of two friends and the internet, they follow the clues to find him, and hopefully, the start of a magical love story.

Can fairytales really come true, or are there even downsides to the fulfillment of wishes? How hard can it be to follow your heart when you see what it really wants?

I thought this was such a sweet book. I really enjoyed all of the characters and the banter between them. While you certainly know where the book will end, it’s such a fun journey to get there. I wish love stories like this existed when I was younger.

Book Review: "Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story" by Lauren Myracle, illustrated by Isaac Goodhart

Victor lives a solitary existence, wracked with guilt about the death of his older brother Otto, and closing himself off to the world. The only bright spot is his job as a scientist, where he hopes to make significant contributions.⁣

Nora believes in living every day to the fullest. But that’s not just a mantra: she has a terminal illness that will rob her of everything—movement, speech, memory. She’s determined not to let that get her down until it’s time, and she has a plan.⁣

⁣ Victor and Nora have a not-quite meet-cute in the cemetery where his brother and her mother are buried. Little by little, Nora’s devil-may-care attitude thaws Victor’s frozen heart. But when he discovers the secret Nora’s been hiding, he’s determined to use science to save her—but what will the consequences be?⁣

⁣ This graphic novel, beautifully drawn and full of emotion, is essentially the origin story of Mr. Freeze, who resurfaces in Batman comics (and a movie). There’s no hint of his ultimate supervillain future here, but obviously there’s a tinge of sadness along with hopefulness.⁣

⁣ I’m a fan of graphic novels, especially ones with some emotional heft to them. I really enjoyed this.⁣

Book Review: "Pizza Girl" by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Pizza Girl is quirky and entertaining, but with surprising emotional heft.

Our main character is 18 and pregnant, and works as a delivery girl for a local pizza place. She has a strong support system in her mother and her boyfriend, but the love they both give her seems smothering at times. She is also grieving the death of her father, but she doesn’t want to acknowledge that he was an alcoholic—and maybe she drinks more than she should.

One day she takes a call from Jenny, a mother who calls with a strange order—a pizza with pepperoni and pickles. If she doesn’t get the pizza, her son won’t eat, as his way of expressing displeasure that they moved to Los Angeles from North Dakota. While the pizza place doesn’t offer pickles as a topping, she can sense Jenny’s desperation, so she buys a jar of pickles to top the pizza with.

It’s not long before she’s delivering a pepperoni-and-pickles pizza to Jenny’s house once a week, and the two strike up a strange friendship. She sees motherhood through Jenny’s eyes and becomes slightly obsessed with her.

This was a very interesting story that made me wonder where it would go. I kept worrying it might veer into creepy territory but thankfully it didn’t. The story is a mixture of the mundane and the unusual, and was surprisingly emotional at times, as the narrator struggles with grief and uncertainty about the direction her life is taking before she’s sure she’s ready.

I’ve seen very mixed reviews for this but I loved the complexity of the main character. This is a strange but utterly fascinating story.

Book Review: "Destination Unknown" by Bill Konigsberg

Two teenage boys, one openly gay and one closeted, navigate friendship, love, and fear in late-1980s New York City.

"Destination Unknown is for everyone who has ever been made to feel ashamed of their identity, anyone who has ever been told that their lives are less meaningful because of who they are.”

It’s been amazing to see the number of books being written over the last few years about coming to terms with your sexuality in the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Each of these books has touched me in many ways, but few have spoken to me the way that Bill Konigsberg did with Destination Unknown.

It’s 1987. Micah is gay but only his best friend Deena knows. One night they’re at a dance club and Micah spots a beautiful young man wearing a plexiglass bra. He is C.J., and Micah is both attracted to him and envies him for the freedom he has in being himself, everyone else be damned.

That moment launches them into a friendship, one that is at times flirtatious and at times protective. Micah is trying to find the courage to come out of the closet, but more than that, he’s deathly afraid of getting AIDS. He’s not even sure how you can get it. At the same time, he realizes the confidence and bravado C.J. walks through life with isn’t always genuine, and covers up fear, hurt, and loneliness.

This is such a beautifully written, emotional, evocative book. I remember being so much like Micah in so many ways, desperate to be “the real me” but so afraid of what that might entail. Konigsberg captures this time period so well, I almost felt my collar popping and smelled the excessive amount of cologne I used to wear.

I absolutely loved and was moved by this. Thanks to Pride Book Tours and Scholastic for inviting me on the tour for this book, and providing a complimentary copy.